Arts
- Simply the best of Lodi
- Star watch: Enjoy a movie in style
- Lo (ho, ho, ha, ha) di
- Rhythm of the night
- A season for a festival
- Keeping it cool: Jazz scene popular in Lodi
Food
- Much more than secret sauce
- Edible, incredible Lodi offers food treats for finicky feasters
- List of area restaurants
Recreation
- Take off!
- Par for the course
- Mokelumne River more than Lodi's northern border
- Fun in them there hills
- Nearby nature: Spend a day exploring Lodi Lake
- Outstanding ornithology: Birds just love Lodi
Shopping
- L.O.D.I. spells hidden treasure in antiques
- Dollars and sense: There are plenty of places to shop in Lodi and the surrounding area
- Chocolate lovers rejoice!
- Find the perfect ‘Lodi' gift
Things To Do
- Perfect day includes walking, eating, playing
- Time alone or with family can be perfect
- Lodi's past comes alive
- Museum reveals Lodi's ag roots
- Move over Wonka
- In all directions, fun is a stone's throw from Lodi
- Discover: The big list
Wine
Wine country, population: You
With a winegrape tradition stretching back to California's formative years, Lodi has evolved from a producer of jug wines and Napa Valley's grape basket to a position of growing prominence in the wine world.
Growers gleaned some 752,382 tons of grapes in 2005 — the largest harvest on record — from the 90,000 acres of grapevines that surround Lodi, a $300 million crop that comprises 20 percent of the state's grape production. In fact, Lodi produces more tons of grapes than Napa and Sonoma counties combined.
Those grapes then head to any of Lodi's 60-plus boutique wineries, many of which have numerous awards, or to five larger producers, such as Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi, Bear Creek Winery and Turner Road Vintners.
From rare Spanish and Italian varietals to the more popular French varietals, almost any grape under the sun can be found in Lodi.
Zinfandel, a grape with Mediterranean origins that grows well in Lodi's hot days and cool nights, is perhaps the most widely planted grape in Lodi and is considered the appellation's heritage grape. Some zinfandel vines even date back to the 1860s, making them among the oldest in the state.
Last year's whopping harvest of 198,554 tons of zinfandel accounted for 44 percent of the state's total harvest for that grape.
Chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon and merlot are also planted ubiquitously. Rarer offerings include alicante bouschet, graciano and marsanne.
Lodi's wineries are increasingly attracting attention at wine competitions.
Many local wineries garnered top awards at the 2005 California State Fair, as well as other prestigious honors at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
Led by the Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission, growers are also exploring new and innovative farming techniques.
The recently approved Lodi Rules program created the first-ever set of guidelines for environmentally growing techniques, dictating farming practices from irrigation to pest management.